The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 9 letter word HORS D’OEUVRES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
H
O
R
S
D
â
€
™
O
E
U
V
R
E
S
More clues leading to the result HORS D’OEUVRES
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "small starters" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case small starters = hors d’oeuvres.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.